How to improve your writing skills
First impressions have a big impact on writing. Readers should WANT to read your work, so it better make a good first impression. Make sure your essay has a purpose, good structure and is error free! Keep in mind that readers don’t know what’s going on in your head; make sure your ideas are clearly written. Here’s acronym that can help: CAR (conceive, author, revise).
C: Conceive
Conceiving your work means looking at the big picture. It is important to generate some sort of plan before you actually put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard).
- What is your subject?
- Who is your audience? What do they know about your topic?
- What is your take on the subject/assigned thesis?
- How do you intend to prove your thesis? .
A: Author
Using the plan you developed during the conception stage, start writing your paper.
Introduction
Your introduction serves many purposes, but it should rarely be longer than four to six lines. A good way to formulate an introduction is to grab the reader’s attention, introduce your topic, present your opinion and briefly outline what you will be discussing.
Body
The body is the filling of your essay; this is where you will present your main points and back them up. Each of your body paragraphs should:
- Introduce the point of the paragraph.
- Offer proof to support your point (with references cited appropriately).
- Relate your point back to your thesis.
- Offer some sort of smooth transition into the next paragraph.
Conclusion
Your conclusion brings home the main point of your essay. In a sense, you just need to remind your reader of how you proved your thesis. Do not simply re-state your introduction as conclusions need to show some higher level of understanding and insight after you’ve discussed topic.
R: Revise
Now that your essay is finally constructed, it’s time for you to check it over to make sure it makes a good impression. Spell check is not fool proof (it won’t fix an error like mixing up its or it’s), so have a dictionary and thesaurus handy.
Content
During this part of the revision, make sure your topic and thesis are clearly presented, proved and supported.
Style
During this check, you should make sure your essay is interesting to readers. It is also important to remember that using big words and complicated sentences does not make your essay sound sophisticated. In fact, the meaning of your sentences may be lost if you use fancy language.
Wait a little while to check your paper again; you might notice something that you did not catch before. It may also be worthwhile to have your essay checked over by a peer or a parent; a revision by a third party will give you a good idea if your work makes sense to others.
Links
The Writing Centre – University of Ottawa
Mordus des mots – Guide de rédaction (in French only)
